A Tale of Iroh: Ming's Story
by TheJoeFish
Summary: Set around the events of The Day Of Black Sun. What would inspire a loyal prison guard to help a disgraced traitor? This is the story of Iroh and the people he affects. Currently under revision. Please R
1. Chapter 1

Avatar: Ming's story.

What reason could a prison guard have for helping a disgraced general?

This is the story of Ming, who does just that.

But this story does not start with Ming, But with Ming's father, Shin. Like many young Fire Nation men, Shin chose to serve in the Fire Nation Army, indeed, he was skilled enough to rise through the ranks of the common soldiers and be promoted to Lance-Corporal.  
It was on his fifth Tour of Duty that Shin first met the Great General Iroh, The Dragon of The West. Assigned to the relatively simply duty of escorting a train of supply wagons with his unit, Shin distinguished himself during an ambush by Earth Kingdom troops, Thanks to his quick reactions and commands 2 runners made it away to call for the reinforcements that arrived in time to save the larger part of the supplies.  
He was eventually found by the reinforcements, trapped, unconscious under 3 Earth Kingdom bodies with another 4 at his feet, the first 4 killed by his sword until it had become wedged in the 4th enemy, the next 2 killed with his belt knife and the last 1 killed with his bare hands. He was covered in numerous injuries and was in the Army Infirmary tent when Iroh, returning from an inspection heard of the ambush. When Shin rose from his coma Iroh himself came to visit the wounded man.

"So you are the fierce warrior who defeated so many enemies but escaped with only a few cuts and a concussion?"  
"Yes, my Lord General"  
"Well I must say I am impressed, your quick reactions saved some valuable armour replacements that were greatly need by men at the front."  
"All in service of you and your great father, My Lord General."  
"Tell me about yourself, I would greatly like to know more of so clever and skilled a warrior."  
Shin flushed with embarrassment at so high a compliment "There really isn't much to tell My Lord General, I'm from the capital, I joined the Army some years ago now."  
"Tell me of your wife and family then."  
"I'm unmarried My Lord General."  
"What? At your age? A fine young man like you should have a wife, or at least be courting one"  
"There is a girl back home, Hua Mei. But her father insists that I can only marry her after I have completed 3 tours of duty and when I have been promoted to Sergeant, the highest non-commissioned rank that I can reach."  
"Well then, how many tours of duty have you completed?"  
"5 my Lord General, 3 under General Gan fighting near the Si Wong Desert and 2 under your Command here in the south."  
"This a shame" Iroh commented with a grave expression, but with a mischievous glint to his eyes.  
"Why? My Lord General" Asked Shin, suddenly uncertain.  
"Your wounds are most serious, Sergeant Shin. You had best be heading home. We cannot have you serving here in the Southern Earth Kingdom, go back to the capital until you are healed. Before you leave you must speak to my Aide, he will see that you are rewarded for your services."  
Shin was stunned "My Lord General! Are you being serious! Thank you! Thank you! Agni's blessings upon you, your wife and your son when he is born!"  
"Do not thank me yet, Sergeant. I expect you back here when the next campaign season starts" But even with Iroh's grave words there was a smile upon his face.

It was some years later when Shin and Iroh next crossed paths. Shin was debriefing his men after a battle when Iroh and his retinue approached. Returning Shin's salute Iroh signalled for him to continue. After he had finished the debriefing and dismissed his men Iroh approached Shin and asked "Well Sergeant, how is your command?"  
_'He's forgotten me completely' _thought Shin_. 'Still, it's to be expected. He must meet hundreds of men and Sergeants.'_  
"Very well, My Lord General, the town is poorly fortified and you plan is working perfectly. My men performed their task as per your commands and the town will fall on the next assault, the men's morale has never been higher."  
"And did Hua Mei's Father let you marry her when you returned?"  
Shin stared in stunned silence at Iroh.  
Iroh laughed heartily at the look on Shin's face and said "Did you think I had forgotten about the Hero, Sergeant Shin? Come, tell me if you got the girl."  
"Yes, her father relented after he learned that my promotion came from your hand itself, My Lord General."  
"And are you a father yet?"  
"We have a young girl now called Ming, and if a son arrives he will be named for you, My Lord General"  
"Delightful! Tell me, are young girls as much trouble as young boys?"  
Shin smiled at that, "Pardon me if I say I think you got off easy My Lord General. Ming has a heart of gold now and shows a little too much of her father for Hua Mei to like, she says she wants to be a warrior like her daddy. But she was an absolute terror and a nightmare when she was still very young"  
Iroh gave one of his recognisable and infectious laughs "I think it must be a stage with all children, Lu Ten has become a very spirited child now, but I remember him screaming down the palace walls"  
Their conversation ended quickly when Iroh noticed a messenger entering the camp.  
"Duty calls me Sergeant Shin, but my best wishes for you. I hope everything continues to improve for you and you family"

The next time Iroh met Shin was a few years after that. On his back in the infirmary tent again, Shin saw Iroh enter and begin to walk round giving kind words to the wounded. When he reached Shin, Iroh stopped and looked sadly at him  
"We cannot always be the hero, can we Sergeant?"  
"They would have died if I did not act, My Lord General."  
"And now you have…"  
"All in service of you and your great father, My Lord General." Shin coughed fiercely, it would not be long now, the shard of rock had pierced his stomach, they had given him all kinds of medicines for the pains, but they could do nothing to save him.  
"You will be recognised in my next set of dispatches and your family will receive the reward you would if you do not pull through."  
"Why have you done so much for me? Do you pity the common people so much?" the usual honourific distinctly absent from Shin's angered reply  
"As much as my people will one day serve me, so must I serve my people. This great nation will fail without its people. So I serve them as best I can, so that their loyalty and dedication is repaid."  
Shin stared at this response. "My Lord General will be a very great Fire Lord one day… Thank you for everything, I'm sorry that I could not help further with the siege" he said "Please send a message to my family, it is written out and kept in my pack."  
"I will see it done Shin."

"Thank you."

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Authors Note: Right all, this is my first piece of creative writing in about 6 or 7 years. I've tried as hard as I can on keeping the characters reasonably plausible and also keeping the quality of spelling and grammar decent. So, if you have comments or constructive criticism. I'd love to hear it.

This idea came to me from no where after I watched DOBS. The character of Ming the friendly prison guard interested me (she was voiced by Serena Williams, did you know?) and so I decided to dust off my extremely rusty creative writing skills and make up a back story for her. it's not quite finished yet, but I plan on getting it done sharpish.


	2. Chapter 2

_4 weeks before The Day of Black Sun_

Ming slowly brewed the Jasmine Tea outside the prison on a rocky out cropping. In truth she preferred Ceylon Tea, but her father had often commented that "The Lord General" was famous within the Army for his love of Jasmine. Once it was prepared Ming poured it into a flask and quickly made her way back into the prison citadel, collecting the tray of food for Iroh. Entering his cell she took in his appearance. Her father had always made "the Lord General" seem like some kind of powerful spirit, but looking at him squatting in his cell with a vacant expression Ming was forced to conclude that maybe her father had exaggerated somewhat.  
Approaching, she silently set the tray down and pushed it through the bars. Turning slowly and leaving she heard him shuffle over to the tray and begin to eat. As she was shutting the door behind her a voice came "Jasmine does not need to be stewed so long"  
Turning back into the room Ming was struck by the difference in the man before her. The vacant expression was replaced by a steady intelligent gaze that seemed to be studying her. An aura of confidence seemed to come from him now. _Maybe father only exaggerated a little…_  
"But? What?" Ming stuttered confusedly  
"Jasmine has an intense flavour naturally, if you brew it too long the flavour becomes too much and is bitter to the taste"  
"But you were…"  
"Sometimes we are not what we appear at first glance, and sometimes we must wear a gruesome mask to achieve our goals. Thank you for the tea." With that he turned his back on her and once again seemed to become just a weak old man in a cell

Ming worked carefully, trying to figure out how long one should brew their Jasmine for. Iroh had said her last attempt hadn't been brewed for long enough.  
Entering his cell with his last meal for the day Iroh smiled warmly when he recognised her. "Is this your latest attempt?"  
"I think I might have got it this time"  
He looked speculatively at the tea, sniffed it, and tasted it. A huge beaming smiles spread across his face and Ming joined him in a grin.  
"You have progressed very far Ming, indeed I think you probably mastered it last week to be honest"  
Ming, true to the fire nation stereotype, exploded in a rage. "WHAT! You mean I've been tying to improve needlessly for a week now!"  
Iroh's grin only got wider.  
"Forgive an old man his games, but there was a reason to it. By continuing to do something for my sake you showed that I could trust you as much as I hoped."  
"You had me practicing Tea making to find out if you could trust me?  
"And because even masters still have room for improvement. Besides it is a valuable skill, someone that can make a good Jasmine Tea will always be able to make friends." The grin on Iroh's face was almost impossibly infections and Ming quickly felt herself smiling again.  
"Now Ming, you've asked me many questions over these past few weeks so I would like to ask you one."  
"Uhmm, ok then." Ming replied nervously  
"Why are you being so kind to me?"  
"I am doing my fathers last wish and repaying the kindness that has helped my family many times, to hear my father tell it, you practically preformed my parent's marriage ceremony."  
"So that is what was in Sergeant Shin's letter was it? I'm deeply sorry, your father was a good man"  
"It was long ago now" Ming said in a clipped tone, she did not wish to discuss such memories.  
"Very well, your Jasmine Tea is fantastic, but your company is also very enjoyable. Now go, you must not be discovered."

Ming soon retuned.

"Now this is a good Ginseng Tea Ming! If I still had my Tea Shop in Ba Sing Se I would employ you straight away."  
"Ba Sing Se sounds fascinating." Ming replied blushing slightly, trying to deflect the old mans compliments. Truth be told, she'd been experimenting with teas ever since the incident with the Jasmine and was discovering it all as she went along.  
"In many ways it is much like here. Although I find that the Earth Kingdom is a little to wet for my tastes. The storms there are truly something to behold."  
"Is there anything else I can do for except bring you tea?"  
"The Tea is enough, for now. And the pleasant company is greatly appreciated too"  
Ming blushed slightly at that and then understood the comment fully.  
"Will you want me to do something for you later then?"  
"Well Ming, you will find that out later won't you?"

Ming wondered silently why she was doing this. Sure, she could probably talk her way out of any trouble, but not if the contents of the scroll were found out. Iroh had not told her what the scroll said, but he had impressed upon her the importance of their contents and the danger of being caught with them in the royal palace at night. Again Ming asked herself why she had agreed to this. Iroh had made it seem like such a good idea at the time.  
Finally she reached where Iroh's directions had guided her, The Princes room. Swiftly setting the scroll down and turning to head away. Ming moved quickly. The sounds of the Prince leaving his room chasing her down the corridor.

"I must thank you Ming, for your brave feat the other night, you will be pleased to know it was not in vain."  
"Why are you trying to help the Prince now? Princess Azula has told everyone how you stood against them in Ba Sing Se."  
"Sometimes, truly helping someone does not always involve supporting them in what they do, and other times it requires you to directly oppose what they want."  
"But why are you opposed to him? He killed the avatar! He defeated the only bar in our way to winning this war!"  
"The Fire Nation winning this war will not be the grand thing that you are told to think it is. The unbalance created as a result could well tear the world as we know it apart destroying even the Fire Nation, this world must have balance."  
"Are you saying then that my fathers' sacrifice was in vain?"  
"It makes his acts no less honourable that he fought for a misguided cause-"  
"Save it, you old coot"

Ming rose angrily and left. Tears in her eyes as she thought about everything Iroh had said.

The tray had only a bowl of rice and an old fruit on it.  
"I can understand how you feel Ming. I lost my only child to this war that I no longer want to win."  
Ming didn't look at him.  
"If the war is won do you think the world will truly be better off? What of the children of the Earth Kingdoms who will forever be taught to believe they are inferior, or the Water Tribes? Their massive capacity to heal will be snuffed out and lost to the world. My grandfather might have once believed that he could spread prosperity, but his descendants have only spread hatred and fear"  
Ming left without saying a word.

A/N: ok I hope you've enjoyed it thus far. I'm working on the next chapter which will deal with Iroh's escape and Mings reaction to it.


End file.
